Main navigation

Obstruction On the Track?

London Underground tried to trial front facing cameras on Victoria Line trains - to detect obstructions on the track, to help it eliminate the need for a driver on the front. But Vic Line drivers were having none of it.

Train ops have been refusing to allow this equipment in the cab, knowing it will bring LU a step closer to its long-term desire for driverless trains. It's been good to see members of RMT and ASLEF working together on this at local level.

It would be good to see both drivers' unions carry this firm stand to LU management - especially ASLEF, which has been reluctant so far to join RMT in declaring a serious fight, hoping instead that technological difficulties will scupper these plans.

Tubeworker is not opposed to technology that detects obstructions on the track; in the hands of workers, it would be used to make us all safer. But LU isn't interested in safety; it's invested in this technology for the pure purpose of removing jobs. It's interesting to note what our bosses are prepared to spend money on in times of high unemployment and supposed austerity.

That is precisely the reason that all unions should fiercely oppose driverless trains and combine the fight against driverless trains with the fight against LU's austerity agenda.